Prism - Boku No Hero Academia OC
by Coveku
Summary: Set in a different time from the anime and manga of My Hero Academia. Akira Kato, the son of a successful hero, is a young hero in training. His goals are great, but his spirit and determination will not stop him from reaching them.
1. Prologue

Quirks, abilities that humans suddenly started to manifest many years ago. Their origins, unknown. But, with the introduction of quirks came endless possibilities for the human race. People who wanted to do things for the good of the entire world emerged, these people are called Heroes. But, people who were upset with society or were just mentally unstable became the opposite, Villains. Ever since quirks appeared Heroes and Villains have been at each other's throats and it shows no sign of stopping. That's just the way the world is now and, most likely, will forever be. Every day a new hero shows up, along with a new villain. It's an endless cycle that threatens the foundation of society. But, every once in a while, a light of hope appears. Someone who will guide the way for their peers, future heroes, and even current heroes. These people are a dime a dozen, but when they show up their impact on others is immense. In this story, we'll be talking about one of those lights of hope.

Akira Kato. Quirk, Light Manipulation. With this quirk, Akira can steal the energy from light sources around him to use it as his own. With the stolen energy, Akira can light up his own body like a lightbulb. He can change the intensity of the light he releases, but the more intense the light is the more energy is taken up. Since he can manipulate light, he can also lower the amount of light that his own body gives off, basically like camouflage. The quirk isn't as powerful as most. It doesn't power up his punches or give him super speed, but it does give him an advantage. Since his quirk isn't a combat ability, he must go through intense training to make his body ready for combat. His father, Kiyoharu, is a pro-hero and wants his son to surpass him. Kiyoharu has been training Akira ever since his quirk manifested, but not to the point where it's too much for Akira. Surprisingly, he can handle most of the training relatively easy. All of this training might seem a bit overboard to most people, but to Akira, it's just his everyday life. But, this training has a meaning. Soon the U.A. Entrance Exam will take place and all of this training will either pay off or go down the drain.

On another note, Akira has more family that isn't just his father. Hikari Kato, Akira's mother, is not a hero, but she's a hero in her own way. She stays at home to take care of Akira and his little brother, Mitsuaki, while Kiyoharu is out doing hero work. Hikari is a stay at home mom since Kiyoharu earns a lot of money for the family. Mitsuaki, Akira's little brother, is only three-years-old so his quirk hasn't manifested yet. But, that doesn't stop him from looking up to his older brother as his own hero. He wants to become just like Akira when he gets his quirk, no matter what it takes.

Obviously, there's a lot of young people who want to be heroes and we could be talking about any one of them. But, Akira is one of a kind, a light of hope in a series of upcoming darkness, and this is his story.


	2. Light Of Hope

In Musutafu, Japan, a simple family like every other resides. Akira Kato, a young man on the road to becoming a hero, lives in this area. He, his mother, father, and little brother live in a regular apartment building and go through with their daily lives. His father, Kiyoharu, works as a pro-hero under the alias Depliate. His mother, Hikari, stays at home and takes care of his three-year-old brother, Mitsuaki. And Akira trains constantly to prepare himself for the upcoming U.A. Entrance Exam. This is where the story starts, but it won't stay this simple forever.

Akira lays on the couch in the living room, asleep and snoring loudly. Kiyoharu walks in and sees him.

"Akira, did you finish your daily exercises?" he asks. He gets no response from the limp Akira, so he slams his hand on the top of the couch. Akira bolts up and starts breathing heavily and Kiyoharu jumps a bit from the shock. Akira clutches his shirt and his breathing returns to normal. "Wh-what's wrong..?" asks Kiyoharu. Akira turns to Kiyoharu with a dumb confused look on his face.

"Oh, me? Bad dream." Akira responds. Kiyoharu sighs.

"So, did you?" he asks.

"Did I what?" Akira questions with the same dumb look on his face. Kiyoharu sighs even louder.

"Did you finish your daily exercises?" he asks again. Akira smiles and flashes a thumbs-up.

"Yep! I already finished them earlier!" he says, proud of himself.

"Those exercises are getting pretty easy for you, huh?" Kiyoharu replies. Akira clenches his fist and flexes his right arm.

"Yea! It's cuz I'm gettin' stronger!" he shouts with pride. Kiyoharu chuckles. He reaches his arm down and places his hand on Akira's shoulder.

"You really are. I'm proud of you, Akira," he says sincerely. Akira stares at him for a few moments, wide-eyed and mouth agape. Kiyoharu slowly lifts his hand off of Akira's shoulder and then aggressively points at him. "Now, 100 push-ups!" Kiyoharu shouts.

"Huh?!" Akira questions loudly.

"Go! Go! Go! Go!" Kiyoharu shouts again while pumping his fist up and down in the air. But, before Akira can start, a voice shouts from down the hall.

"Kiyoharu! Shouldn't you be on patrol right now?!" Kiyoharu then lets out the biggest sigh ever known to mankind.

"Alright, Akira, if I don't go on patrol now your mother will kill me," Kiyoharu says as he walks towards the front door, "You better have those 100 push-ups done by the time I get back," Akira firmly salutes in response.

"I'll do 150 to prove that I'm even stronger! I won't let you down!" Akira shouts with all of his might. Kiyoharu turns the doorknob and chuckles.

"I'm counting on you!" he says as he walks out the door. As Kiyoharu shuts the door, Hikari, Akira's mother walks out from down the hallway carrying a full laundry basket.

"Your father doesn't know how to keep quiet, does he?" she remarks as she sets down the laundry basket, "We have neighbors..!"

"Yea... He really knows how to get hyped up." Akira replies. Hikari sits down on the couch next to Akira and lets out a deep breath.

"You'll need to know how to fold laundry when you eventually leave the house..." Hikari says while glancing at Akira.

'I see where this is going and I don't like it...' Akira thinks.

"So why don't you help-" Akira suddenly shoots up and cuts Hikari off.

"Well, those push-ups aren't going to do themselves!" he shouts. Quickly, he lays down on the ground and starts rapidly doing push-ups, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9..." he mutters. Hikari sighs and gets up off of the couch.

"Can't say I didn't try..." she whispers to herself as she picks up the laundry basket, "I'll just fold these clothes in my room so I don't bother you."

"29, 30, 31, 32. Thanks, mom! 33, 34, 35, 36..." Akira says quickly between push-ups. Hikari walks down the hallway and into her room. As she shuts the door Akira stops doing push-ups. "48, huh? Only 102 to go. But, I'll save that for later, I wasn't finished with my nap." says Akira. He flops back onto the couch and passes out instantly.

Sometime later in the city...

The sun is starting to set and the city is quiet. People are getting home from work, eating, or just taking strolls down the street. They're all just living their simple day-to-day lives. But, when that simple living is interrupted, someone needs to step in to save the day. And that's the point of having heroes go on patrol. Kiyoharu, or Depliate, always has the "boring patrols", or so he says.

'Nothing happening today, as usual.' Kiyoharu thinks while walking down the street. But, as he thought that a huge explosion came from a few streets down.

"Seriously?! Right as I mention it?!" he shouts as he runs towards the commotion.

He turns the corner to see a hooded man standing in the middle of the street with super elongated arms. The arms quickly shrink back into his regular arm size and then he shoots one of his arms into a store window and shakes it around, breaking the foundation of the building. Kiyoharu runs down the street to get closer and the man turns around.

"Sorry, villain. I'm gonna have to ask you to stop messing up my town," Kiyoharu says while smiling.

CHAPTER 1 END


	3. Fight, Kiyoharu!

"Sorry, villain. I'm gonna have to ask you to stop messing up my town."

Kiyoharu starts to slowly walk towards the villain, full of courage. 'This villain seems to be like any other, a young person going crazy with their quirk for attention... I better stop them quickly.' Kiyoharu thinks.

The villain's repulsive tentacle-like arms form back into his normal arms. Slowly, he turns his around to look at Kiyoharu.

"...Who..?" he whispers. The villain's voice sounds like old, decrepit doors creaking or nails on a chalkboard.

Kiyoharu scoffs, "I'm Depliate, the hero who's gonna put you behind bars,"

The villain turns around fully to face Kiyoharu head on. He starts walking towards the villain at a faster pace and clenches his fists.

"...Please, don't step any closer..." mutters the villain.

Kiyoharu smiles widely, "Don't step any closer, eh?" In an instant, he starts charging towards the villain, "Well, then you'll have to stop m-!" He got cut off by the villain's disgusting black tentacle arm wrapping around his waist. It came at him so fast that he had no time to even see it. Then, like he weighed nothing, the villain throws him into one of the shops on the street. He smashes through the window and the collision causes a huge dust cloud to form. After the crash, the villain reforms his arm back to normal.

"...I beg of you, don't take this personally..." the villain pleads, "...Everything I do...is for my Sensei..." Kiyoharu quickly jumps back up and runs into the street once more.

"Your 'Sensei', huh? You should introduce me sometime!" Kiyoharu swiftly reaches out his right hand in the direction of the villain, "But, not right now. I need to take care of you first!" He clenches his fist and a green mist starts to leave the villains body. The mist flows towards Kiyoharu and fades into his body.

"...What..?" the villain questions, "...What is this..?" He falls down to one knee like a heavy weight was just placed on his back. "...I'm losing strength..."

Kiyoharu puts his arm down and smiles, "That's right."

 _Kiyoharu Kato. Quirk, Stamina Sapper. He can steal other human's stamina and store it in himself for his own personal use. He can't steal all of a person's stamina in one go, however. He must steal it over time._

"Now I have your stamina! Don't even try to run anymore, villain. Because you won't be able to." Kiyoharu declares as he starts walking towards the villain again. The villain falls to the ground like a rock and starts shaking.

"...I don't need stamina..." he whispers.

Kiyoharu stops in his tracks, "Huh?" The villain puts his palms on the cold pavement of the street and lifts himself up by transforming his arms into the tentacles and elongating them.

"...Stamina isn't a requirement for strength..." he remarks. His right arm turns back to normal while his left is still holding himself up. Shakily, he lifts his right arm and points it at Kiyoharu. "...Now, please stay out of my way..." Again, the villain transforms his arm into the grotesque black tentacle and shoots it towards Kiyoharu, but this time it has a sharp tip. Kiyoharu slides to the side just in time to dodge, but it grazes his cheek, cutting it.

'Damn, why is the end so sharp...?!' Kiyoharu thinks. The second that he's finished dodging, the tentacle does a U-turn. 'It's coming back!' He turns around to see that it's too close to dodge. 'Shit! I can't dodge this one! I need to block it..!' he thinks. He quickly moves his hands in front of his head and puts them on top of each other with their palms facing the tentacle. It pierces through his left hand fully, but his right is able to stop its momentum.

"Aggh!" groans Kiyoharu as the point enters his palm. The villain watches as this occurs.

"...Hmmm..." the villain thinks, "...He's too strong for me at the moment..." Quickly, he turns his left arm back to normal and then flips his hair up off of his ear to reveal an earpiece. He promptly presses the button to activate his microphone. "...I'm sorry, Sensei, I'll have to complete my introduction another time... Please forgive me..."

"Do not worry, Yumio. These things take time. Return back quickly and we will discuss what you'll do next," says a deep voice from the earpiece.

"Yes, sensei." says the villain. He retracts his tentacle arm that was attacking Kiyoharu and transforms it back to normal. Once the point leaves Kiyoharu's palm he quickly turns around to see that the villain has gotten away.

"Goddammit..." he mutters while holding his bleeding left hand.

 **Later that night...**

After the villain incident, he was taken to a nearby doctor's office and was given stitches. But, now he has to wear a cast for a few weeks while his hand is healing.

"I'm home," Kiyoharu says as he enters the apartment. He walks down the hallway past the living room and sees Akira still sleeping and snoring on the couch. "If you didn't do those push-ups you'll be in big trouble, young man." Suddenly a door from down the hall opens up and Hikari walks out. She gasps and runs over to Kiyoharu when she sees his cast.

"W-what happened?!" she stammers. Kiyoharu scratches the back of his head and chuckles.

"I just had a scuffle with a villain, that's all," he answers.

Hikari pouts, "Well, obviously! I mean, what happened to your arm?!" Kiyoharu slowly looks down at his cast and sighs.

"Here, let's not wake up Akira. I'll tell you in the room," he whispers.

 **At the same time, in an old abandoned warehouse...**

"...I'm back, Sensei..." says the villain that fought Kiyoharu earlier.

"Welcome back, Yumio. Did you learn any valuable information or any good lessons while you were out?" says a figure with a deep voice, sitting behind a desk.

"...Nothing valuable..." says Yumio. "...But, I did learn of a hero who I want out of my way..."

"Oh? And who's that?" questions the figure.

"...Depliate..." Yumio growls.

"Well, you know that I give you full reign to destroy anyone you want, as long as it won't affect me," explains the figure, "You're allowed to kill him if you so please. Just don't bring me into your own personal grudges, Yumio."

"...Yes, thank you Sensei..." Yumio replies.

 **CHAPTER 2 END**


	4. Akira and Kiyoharu Kato

"You got in a fight with a villain?!" Akira shouts at Kiyoharu while eating breakfast. Both Kiyoharu and Akira are sitting at the kitchen table the morning after his encounter with Yumio.

"Yea, he was pretty strong too," he states, "Unfortunately, he got away. I didn't even get a good look at his face." While Kiyoharu is explaining, Akira is rapidly eating his cereal, not really paying attention.

"Mmmffmfmmf" Akira mumbles with a mouth full of cereal. Kiyoharu sighs and gets up from the table.

"Well, the doctors told me to rest, so I'm gonna take a nap," he says as he walks down the hallway.

"Wait!" Akira quickly stumbles out of his chair and runs up to Kiyoharu, "What is the villain's quirk?!" he questions.

"From what I saw, it seemed like he could turn his arms into long, black, grotesque tentacles," Kiyoharu explains.

"Wooaahh..." Akira whispers, "If they were tentacles, then how did you get the hole in your hand?" Kiyoharu looks down at his cast.

"He made the ends of his tentacles sharp and it pierced right through," Kiyoharu says.

"Scary..." mutters Akira. Kiyoharu reaches out his hand and scratches the top of Akira's head.

"We can talk more about it later, but for now I need some rest," he says with a slight smile.

"Right! You gotta get all your strength back so you can go back in the field!" shouts Akira. Kiyoharu chuckles and walks down the hallway. Akira turns around and makes his way for the couch in the living room. As Kiyoharu is about to walk into his room, he remembers something.

"Akira?" he asks. Akira turns his head around in response.

"Yea?" he responds.

"Did you do those push-ups that I asked you to do?" Kiyoharu questions. Those words went through him like a knife. He freezes in place. Sweat starts to stream down his face. He tries to run down the hallway, but his body is stiff. All he does is just stand there, like a board. "You didn't, did you?" Kiyoharu pries for an answer. Akira still doesn't move. He stays put like a statue. The amount of sweat that's running down his face could fill up a whole bucket. As he opens his mouth, Kiyoharu cuts him off, "It's fine if you didn't. Just make sure to do them today, okay?" Kiyoharu walks into his room and shuts the door. Throughout that entire encounter, Akira didn't breathe once.

"...He's intimidating without even trying," he shudders, "I should finish those push-ups now."

 **A few hours later...**

After Kiyoharu took a nap, he decided that, since he's taking a break from being a hero until he's healed, he and Akira would head to the gym for some training. So, he and Akira are heading to their nearby gym so Kiyoharu can keep up with his exercises and Akira can get some more training before the Entrance Exam. Right now, they're walking down alleyways to get to the gym quicker.

"Are you sure we should be going to the gym?" Akira asks, "You still need rest, don't you?" Kiyoharu shrugs in response. "You know that mom will be pissed if she finds out right? You're lucky that she decided to take a nap before we left."

"I know your mother, she'll be out for a few hours, at best." Kiyoharu states.

"Yea, but who's gonna take care of Mitsuaki?" Akira questions.

"He'll be fine, he's practically fully grown at this point." Kiyoharu remarks.

"He's three-years-old!" Akira shouts. Kiyoharu sighs.

"Yea, I know he's still young. But, he'll have to learn how to be independent quickly." Kiyoharu explains. Akira looks at him, confused.

"Why's that?" he asks.

"Well, being in the Hero field and all. Who knows when I'll kick the bucket." Kiyoharu says. Akira steps over to the side a bit in shock.

"Wh-why would you say that kind of stuff?" he questions. Kiyoharu smiles and scratches Akira's head.

"It's just the facts, bud. Don't get hung up over it, okay?" he says. Akira nods with a somewhat distressed look on his face. After a few more minutes of walking and multiple topics, they make it to the gym. "Okay, Akira. Today, I want you to work on how much light you can store in your body without overheating. Sound good?" Kiyoharu explains. Akira nods with determination.

"Yessir!" he shouts. The local gym they go to is quite small, but since Akira is a regular, the gym has a special room with light sources big and small for Akira to train called the Light Room. Well, it's not just because he's a regular. It's also because Kiyoharu paid the gym to create the training room, but that's beside the point. The room is about the size of a bathroom that you'd find in a gas station, but it's filled with lights. There are about 6 or 7 lamps placed on various tables and 4 lights strapped to the ceiling.

"Okay, here we go," Akira whispers as he outstretches his right arm. He takes a deep breath and clenches his fist. Suddenly, all of the lights start to flicker. Akira tightens his grip on his fist and the lights flicker even more. Then, golden sparkly aura starts to leave the light sources and flow over to his fist. The aura collects around his fist and then he releases his fist. Quickly, the aura flows into his palm and enters his body through his arm. He grits his teeth and his face starts to turn red. A few sweat drops run down his face. The energy he took in wasn't from all of the lights, however. There are still two lamps left with lights on. "I can still store more..." Akira mutters as he clenches his fist again. The golden aura leaves the two lamps and flows over his fist. As he releases his fist, the light he stored up becomes too much. His eyes turn pure white and his entire body shines with immense light, but only for a second. After it stops, Akira falls to his knees, breathing heavily. Once his breathing returns to normal, he smiles with satisfaction. "...That's more than I was able to store last time..!" he whispers.

Outside of the Light Room, all of the other people are training. Since there's an opening at the bottom of the door to the Light Room like all doors, the people training outside noticed the influx of light that released from Akira's body.

"Hey, Kato. How's your kid doing?" asks a gym regular. Kiyoharu turns towards the regular.

"I think he's doing well. He just needs to work on his limits." Kiyoharu responds. The gym regular looks towards the Light Room door.

"His quirk isn't very combat based, is it? If he wants to get into U.A. then he'll need the body to make up for it." mentions the gym regular. Kiyoharu turns back to his training equipment.

"Yep, that's why he needs to train. He knows that." Kiyoharu says, "At this rate, he'll definitely surpass me with ease." The gym regular turns to Kiyoharu.

"You sure you're fine with that?" he asks. Kiyoharu nods.

"Yea, I'm perfectly fine with it. He is my successor, after all." Kiyoharu replies.

 **CHAPTER 3 END**


	5. Burning Light

"Hey, Kato. How's your kid doing?" asks a gym regular. Kiyoharu turns towards the regular.

"I think he's doing well. He just needs to work on his limits." Kiyoharu responds. The gym regular looks towards the Light Room door.

"His quirk isn't very combat based, is it? If he wants to get into U.A. then he'll need the body to make up for it." mentions the gym regular. Kiyoharu turns back to his training equipment.

"Yep, that's why he needs to train. He knows that." Kiyoharu says, "At this rate, he'll definitely surpass me with ease." The gym regular turns to Kiyoharu.

"You sure you're fine with that?" he asks. Kiyoharu nods.

"Yea, I'm perfectly fine with it. He is my successor, after all." Kiyoharu replies. Abruptly, Kiyoharu's phone buzzes and he quickly pulls it out of his pocket. He reads over the message that he received very carefully. Then, all color drains from his face. "Uh-oh," he whispers. He promptly gets up and starts packing up his equipment. A person who is sitting next to him stares at him with confusion. "Akira, we gotta get home!" Kiyoharu yells over to the Light Room. Stumbling can be heard from inside the room and Akira swings open the door.

"But I haven't trained much yet!" he whines. Kiyoharu lifts his equipment bag over his shoulder and stares at Akira.

"We don't have time. Your mother woke up," he says in a very deep and serious voice. Sweat starts to run down Akira's face.

"Oh no. Dad, you're dead," he mutters. Kiyoharu starts to sprint towards the door.

"I know that! I wanna get home as fast as possible to lessen the punishment!" he shouts. Akira turns off the lights in the Light Room and grabs his bag. He runs after Kiyoharu as fast as he can.

"I better not be in trouble too! You're the one who dragged me here!" he yells after Kiyoharu. Akira runs out and slams the door. After the door slammed, everyone else was silent. No one knew how to process what just occurred, so they went back to working out.

"C'mon Akira, speed up!" Kiyoharu yells while sprinting down the alleyway.

"I'm going as fast as I can! It doesn't help to yell while running y'know!" Akira yells back, struggling to keep up. Kiyoharu breathes in a deep breath and starts sprinting even faster than he was. Akira sees this and tries to do the same, but when he breathes in he closes his eyes. With his vision disabled, he trips over a toppled trash can and faceplants on the ground. He lays there for a few seconds, defeated. With his face still planted on the ground, he raises his right arm trying to grab onto some nonexistent hope. But, someone grabs his hand. He lifts his head to see, but his vision is clouded by the fall. The sun is placed behind the figure, so all he can see is a shadowy person. The figure gets down on one knee.

"I'm not leaving you behind..." says the figure.

"So, you're not gonna leave me behind so you can use me as a device to lessen your punishment, huh?" Akira states. The figure bends down to reveal their identity, it's Kiyoharu if you couldn't tell.

"No! I'm just trying to be a good dad!" Kiyoharu exclaims. Akira stares at him suspiciously. Kiyoharu sighs and lifts Akira up. "Can you walk?" he asks. Akira rubs dirt off of his face.

"Yeah, my face cushioned my fall," he responds. Kiyoharu flashes two thumbs up and a dumb smile. Then, he quickly spins around and starts sprinting down the alley again.

"I'll see you back at the apartment!" he yells. Akira sighs and starts walking down Kiyoharu's path.

"One minute he can be serious about something and then the next he's a totally different person," he says to himself while smiling slightly, "But, I don't hate that about him. He is my dad after all." Then, Akira walks back to the apartment at his own pace.

Once he gets back he stands in front of the door for a few seconds, contemplating on whether or not he should even go in. He breathes in slowly and breathes out as he turns the doorknob. As he opens the door, the scene he sees is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Kiyoharu is kneeled down with his head and hands placed on the ground. While Hikari is standing tall above him, staring down.

"So, Kiyoharu Kato, why were you out at the gym when the doctor explicitly told you to stay home and rest?" Hikari says with a stern tone. Akira walks in and shuts the door quietly.

"Looks like I got back just in time for the execution." Akira jokes. Kiyoharu quickly lifts his head and turns to Akira.

"Akira, thank goodness! You saw me, right? I wasn't exercising at all! I was just watching over you, right? Right?!" he shouts in desperation. Akira lifts up his arm and looks down at his nonexistent watch.

"Man, look at the time! I need to do some more training for that entrance exam coming up," he says sarcastically. Kiyoharu stares at Akira with a look of utter betrayal on his face. He continues to stare and mouths the word "please". Akira responds by mouthing the word "sorry" as he walks to his room. Hikari waves to Akira while he walks away.

"Make sure to eat something once you're done training!" she says to him. As he's about to shut his door he peeks his head out.

"Yeah, I will! And good luck, dad," he says while he shuts his door. Kiyoharu gulps and puts his forehead back down on the ground.

"Now, let me repeat my question from earlier..." Hikari growls.

 **A Few Days Later...**

"Are you sure we should be doing this in the living room, dad?" Akira asks. Kiyoharu shrugs.

"Well, your mom won't let me leave the house to go to the gym with you, so... This is our only option," he explains.

"Alright..." Akira mutters. Kiyoharu pumps his fist up in the air.

"Now, release all the light you have stored!" he shouts. Akira turns to him, confused.

"All of it?" he asks.

"Yeah, all of it. But, release it in a fixed location. Like, your hand or a single finger," Kiyoharu replies, "You still have some stored up, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Akira says.

"Alright then, try releasing all you can through the tip of your index finger," Kiyoharu states. Akira nods. He then puts on some store-bought sunglasses to protect his eyes. Outstretching his arm, he points his index finger out while leaving his other fingers down.

'Try releasing all I can...' Akira thinks. A slight light starts to form on his fingertip that gradually gets brighter and brighter. The light gets so bright that Kiyoharu needs to cover his eyes with his arms.

"I really should've gotten some sunglasses too..." he mutters. Eventually, the light gets so bright that it fills the entire room. It's so bright to the point where it's hurting Kiyoharu's eyes, even with them being blocked. Then, it starts to give off heat. Akira's starts sweating along with Kiyoharu. After a while of holding the light, Akira lets out a quick noise of pain and the light instantly stops. Quickly, Akira clenches the tip of his finger and grits his teeth. Kiyoharu takes his arms off of his eyes and notices Akira holding his finger. "What happened? Are you alright?" he questions.

"I think I burned the tip of my finger from the heat," Akira says while slightly shaking.

"You... burned yourself with your light..?" Kiyoharu thinks, "Akira! Your light is getting stronger!"

"Huh?" Akira questions. Kiyoharu puts his hands on Akira's shoulders.

"Even if it was yourself, this is the first time your light has been able to burn anything! If you train it right, it can be used in combat!" he shouts.

"My quirk... has a combat ability..?" Akira mutters.

"Yes! There's still a few weeks until the U.A. Entrance Exam. Let's spend all of that time training your burning ability!" Akira shouts with excitement.

"Right!" Akira says.

 **CHAPTER 4 END**


	6. Success or Failure

After learning about his newfound ability to burn with his light, Akira trained hard over the next three weeks before the Entrance Exam. Kiyoharu watched over him as he started to build up a resistance to the heat, but it's still not enough to call a combat ability. Now, it's the day of the Entrance Exam and Akira is up at dawn on a jog. The streets are empty and barren, like an apocalypse. The sound of Akira's feet hitting the ground echoes through the streets. It's calming, really. This is just what he needed before the exam since he's stressing out about how it will turn out. In this environment, he can let loose and not worry about any interruptions.

"Hey, Akira!" someone shouts in his ear. He stumbles over from the sudden shock and crashes into the wall of a building. Slowly, he turns his head with a mortified look on his face, but then he sees that it's just Kiyoharu.

"Oh, it's just you." Akira states with an emotionless face. Kiyoharu stares at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" he shouts. Akira shrugs in response and stands up. "Ah, whatever... Are you prepping for the exam?" questions Kiyoharu.

"Oh, yeah!" Akira exclaims, "Well, I was until you gave me a heart attack." Kiyoharu chuckles and scratches the back of his head.

"Heh, yeah... Sorry about that..." he apologizes. Then, he pulls out his phone to check the time. "You've still got a few hours until the exam. Make sure to prepare in any way you can. I'm rooting for you, Akira." he says with a smile. He then pats Akira on the head and runs off down the street. Akira watches him as he jogs away.

'That's right... My dad believes that I can succeed. I have to show him what I'm made of.' Akira thinks. He puts a face of determination on and continues on his jog.

 **A Few Hours Later...**

Akira, dressed in his middle school uniform, runs up to the front entrance of U.A. High School gasping for air. He walks over to the side of the entrance and leans up against it. The path to the front of the school is packed with students here to participate in the Entrance Exam. Akira stands leaning on the wall for a long while trying to get air back into his lungs. Eventually, his breathing returns to normal.

"...Made it on time..." he mutters, "That's the last time I try to feed Mitsuaki breakfast. Can't he just pick one thing to eat? He almost made me late..!" He scans the huge group of people walking towards the entrance and a big smile shows up on his face. 'All of these people here are aiming to be heroes just like me..! I can't wait to see some unique quirks!' he thinks. 'But first... I should get inside.'

As he walks into the U.A. Auditorium, he's bombarded with anxiety. '...There are so many people in this one room... How many people are going to be able to get in the hero course..?' he thinks. After standing still like a statue for a few seconds, he shakes his head and finds a seat. Once everyone enters the auditorium a slouched and disheveled man walks out from behind the curtains and up to the podium.

"...I'm Mera from the Hero Public Safety Commission," he explains, "None of the teachers were staffed for today so they called me on short notice to run this exam... I'm so tired... I just want this to be over so I can sleep..." Everyone's reactions to this man were justified. People asking "Is he okay?" or "Is he a zombie?" Akira just stares at the man, concerning for his well being. "...Well, let's just get on with this exam thing..." he says unenthusiastically as he pulls out a remote. He presses a button on the remote and a screen with four different designs for robots shows up. "...In this exam, you will be fighting these faux villains... Each one has a determined point value... Zero, one, two, and three... I'd stay away from the zero point villain, it's just there as a distraction... Just like this exam is a distraction to keep me from sleeping... I'm so tired..!" he explains. His head slouches down and it looks like he died right in front of everyone. All of the participants just sit there in silence and eventually he lifts his head back up. "...What are you all waiting for..? Head to the battle center on your ID card that was given to you at the entrance..." he states. Akira looks down at the card that he received when entering.

"Battle Center B... Alright..!" he whispers to himself. Then, everyone goes to their determined battle center.

After a short bus ride to Battle Center B and a change into more exercise-y clothes, Akira and a large number of other participants stand in front of a huge door.

"Woah... It's huge..!" Akira says to himself. All of the other participants are in as much shock and awe as Akira.

"There's a whole city behind here?" questions a boy. Akira looks around at the people near him. 'I don't need to worry about these people since there's no combat between participants. But, I still want to learn what their quirks are like... I grew up only seeing a select few, so this is a whole new world to me..!' he thinks. Suddenly, a noise of an intercom turning on comes from a nearby tower.

"...Okay, everyone... You can start now..." Mera says over the intercom. The huge doors slowly start to creak open. "...Remember, you can't attack other participants... If you do, you'll be disqualified..." Eventually, the doors finally fully open and an alarm goes off signifying the start of the exam. As soon as the alarm blared, participants were already sprinting into the city. Akira gets pushed to the back of the huge group of people almost instantly. Everyone is so anxious to get their points that they don't see anything else going on around them.

After the disastrous start, everyone is now separated. Akira is running down one of the many streets of the Battle Center searching for faux villains. 'All I need to do is find these villains and take them out...' he thinks. But, after a few more seconds of running, Akira stops in place and stares into space. 'Wait... How am I supposed to take down these robots with my untrained combat ability..?' he thinks again. Then, without any warning, a one-point robot comes speeding down the intersection in front of him.

"Wha-?!" Akira blurts out.

"Target acquired. I'll destroy you!" the robot threatens. It blasts towards Akira with no hesitation. Then, it swings its arm up into the air and slams it down at Akira, but he jumps back and dodges. 'Could this timing be any worse?' he thinks. The robot doesn't take any time in between attacks and charges at Akira again. Swiftly, Akira slides to the side in order to dodge. Since it had a lot of momentum in the charge, it flies past Akira. In the second that it passes him, Akira notices a control panel on the back of the robot. 'Maybe I can burn the latch and rip off that panel..!' he thinks whilst dodging. The robot continues in its straight path, but then it starts to skid and slow down. Even though it starts to slow down, it doesn't turn around just yet.

"...Now's my chance!" Akira says to himself. Instantly, he bolts towards the control panel. Light starts to engulf his right hand as he charges. Before he reaches the robot, he grunts in pain. "Tch..! That's good... It's ready to burn..!" he monologues. Stretching out his arm towards the robot, he grasps the control panel latch and tightens his grip intensely. Then, he starts to pull as hard as he can. The robot stops completely and spins around rapidly to face Akira who isn't there anymore. The spin from the robot was intense on Akira's end. It was so fast that Akira got launched off the robot's back, but he was launched off with the control panel in his hand. 'I got it!' he thinks while flying back. He crashes to the ground in not the most graceful fashion. Then, he takes a look at his hand to see if it burned. His hand is very red and sweaty, but no burn. He smiles because of this and then slowly lifts himself up and turns to the robot, who is looking left and right for Akira.

"Target lost." the robot announces.

"It's distracted... I can do this..!" Akira whispers to himself. As soon as he takes one step, the robot's head shoots up and to the right, pointed at the top of a building. "Huh..?" Akira questions. The robot's vision is pointed at a boy who is looking for faux villains from the rooftop. Akira, still running towards the robot, focuses his view on the boy. "How did he get up there?" he questions to himself. Suddenly, the robot's wheel transforms into a rocket and it blasts up towards the boy. The rocket booms with immense power as the robot flies up. Because of the great power, smoke fills up the street and leaves Akira coughing with his vision hindered. "What the- It has a rocket..?!" he exclaims in between coughs.

As the robot nears the boy, it pulls back its right arm in preparation. The boy notices, but at this point, it's too late. The robot's arm slams into the side of the rooftop and collapses the boy's foundation he was placed on. As soon as its hit lands, it soars back down to the street and transforms its rocket back into a wheel. As this happens, the boy is slowly losing his balance.

"Woah- Hey! Woa-!" he sputters. As he flails his arms around, the foundation on which he is standing finally cracks and he slips off the rooftop. He lets out a shriek of terror as he darts towards the pavement.

 **Many Years Ago...**

 **"Now, Akira, the true essence of a hero, in my opinion, comes from risking your life for someone's safety," Kiyoharu explains, "Obviously, that's not the only thing you need to be a hero. You also have to do something that sounds very simple but is very difficult when you put it into practice. You have to save people, save people from their troubles. Whatever you have to do, whatever stands in your way, you have to save them. That's what a real hero does."**

 **Present Day**

'Those words from my father have never left my head. I knew that one day I'd eventually have to use what he told me. The one thing that a hero needs to be a hero...' Akira thinks. In an instant, he sprints towards the area where the boy will land. Without even thinking for a second about anything else, he leaps forward with his arms outstretched. Time seems to freeze as he glides through the air.

 **'...To save people..!'**

The boy falls right into his arms, safely. Then, Akira lands on the pavement and the boy slips out of his arms. Both of the boys lay on the ground for a few seconds before picking themselves up. The boy stares at Akira with a shocked expression.

"You... saved me..?" he questions. Akira shows a big smile and nods.

"That's what heroes do, right?" he beams. The boy smiles back.

"Thank y-!"

The robot bolts towards the boys, cutting him off.

"Look out!" Akira shouts as he pushes the boy out of the way of the robot's path. Akira was also able to dodge after helping the boy. The robot skids past them with its control panel so vulnerable. "Oh, right..! The control panel..!" Akira whispers to himself. Without hesitation, he charges towards the robot, which is just turning around. It sees Akira charging at it and its red eye flickers and rotates. Then, faster than any time before, it zooms in Akira's direction. Like before, it pulls back its right arm, ready to swing. But, as it swings, Akira ducks under the attack and the robot continues to go forward. This gives him an opening to spin behind the robot, grab the control panel, and tear it out of the robot. After he pulls the control panel out, the robot continues for a few seconds before falling on its side, deactivated. Akira smiles and clenches his fist, "Nice!" He looks back to see the fallen robot and that the boy has gone off somewhere else.

"...Three minutes remaining..." Mera groans over the intercom.

"Three minutes?! But I only have one point..!" Akira shouts, "I need to look for more." He runs up and down multiple streets and alleyways, but can't find anything but destroyed robots. 'Where are all of the robots?! They can't be all destroyed already, right..?' he thinks. As he turns the corner of a street, he sees exam participants running in the opposite direction of him with distressed looks on their faces. "What's going on?" he questions. Suddenly, the ground starts to shake. From the end of the street, a huge robotic hand with three fingers reaches from behind a building and grabs the side of it. Then, a gigantic robot on tracks like a tank rolls around the corner of the street and onto the street Akira is located. "What the hell... That's a zero-point robot, isn't it..?" he whispers to himself. The robot places its huge hand on a rooftop and forms a fist, collecting a huge group of rubble. Then, it winds back its arm and tosses the group of rubble down the street. "Oh shit..!" Akira shouts. He looks around him and sees a girl with short black hair staring at the robot in awe. Unluckily for Akira, a huge piece of rubble is heading straight for the girl. With the piece of rubble about to crash right into this girl, Akira springs into action and runs towards her. He gets right next to her and grabs her sleeve. Swiftly, he pulls her to the side and the rubble lands right where she was standing.

"Wha-?" she questions as the rubble smashes into the ground. Akira lets go of her sleeve.

"Are you okay?" he asks.

"Oh! Yeah, I'm fine..!" she exclaims, "Thanks for helping me out there... I kinda got distracted by the huge robot..." She scratches the back in embarrassment. Akira smiles.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you aren't hurt!" he beams. The girl blushes slightly and nods.

"Hey, what's your-?" the girl starts to ask but gets cut off by Mera.

"...One minute remaining... It's finally almost over... I can't wait to sleep... I'm so tired..!" he announces.

"Crap! One minute left..?" Akira questions, "Sorry, but I gotta go. See ya!"

"Oh-! Uh, yeah..! Thanks again!" the girl stutters. Akira turns around and runs in the opposite direction of the zero point villain.

"Dammit... There's no way I can pass with one minute left. I only have one point..!" he shouts to himself. Again, he runs up and down some streets, but only finds broken robots. "C'mon... I gotta find something! If I can just get a few more poi-!"

"...Time's up..." Mera says, sounding more enthusiastic than usual. Akira stops in place, frozen. His body starts to shake and sweat runs down his face.

"Time's... up..?" he questions.

 **2 Days Later**

Akira sits on the couch in the living room, staring into space. His eyes have no color to them and his body is basically a statue. Kiyoharu walks in and walks up behind the couch.

"Hey, Akira," he says. Akira tilts his head back to look up at Kiyoharu.

"What..?" he says, emotionless. Kiyoharu puts his hand on top of Akira's head and shakes it around.

"Don't be too hung up about whether or not you passed or not. You do realize there are other schools right?" Kiyoharu reassures. Akira stands up from the couch and walks over to the kitchen across the room.

"Yeah, I do. But, U.A. is where great heroes are born," Akira explains, "I want to be a part of the great heroes that come from U.A." He turns his head to look at Kiyoharu, "And it's where you went. Why wouldn't I want to go?" Kiyoharu nods.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Great heroes do come from U.A. almost every year. I mean, look at me! I came out of the "greatest heroes" patch." Kiyoharu declares. Akira chuckles and opens the fridge.

"It's fine if I don't make it... I've pretty much accepted it at this point. But, it would've been cool to go..." Akira laments. Kiyoharu stares at him with a concerned look. Then, the doorbell rings and a letter falls through the slot in the door. The letter has the U.A. logo imprinted on the seal. Akira sighs, closes the fridge, and reluctantly walks over to pick it up. He grabs the letter and rips it open.

"Read it out loud," Kiyoharu suggests. Akira shrugs.

"Fine," he replies. He pulls out the letter and unfolds it. Then, he clears his throat, "Dear Akira Kato, thank you for taking part in the U.A. Entrance Exam. It's a big event for many people and we at U.A. are glad to see more and more upcoming heroes take part. Now, as for the results of the exam, you scored one villain point..." Akira stops and closes his eyes.

"Keep reading, Akira," Kiyoharu says. Akira opens his eyes and looks at him.

"What's the point..?" Akira mutters, trying to hold back tears.

"Please, just continue," Kiyoharu insists. Akira swallows and sighs.

"You scored one villain point... and... 49 rescue points..?" Akira questions, "This brings your total points to 50 which means that you passed the exam! Welcome to U.A... Akira..." After reading the news, he starts tearing up. He lets go of the letter and it flutters to the ground. "I- I made it..?" he stammers as he falls to his knees. Kiyoharu walks over to him and gives him a big hug.

"I knew you would make it," he says, "And basically all of your points were rescue points, huh? You'll definitely be a great hero." Akira hugs Kiyoharu tighter and sniffles.

"...Y-yeah..." Akira stutters.

 **CHAPTER 5 END**


End file.
